Koraput: Villagers denied cremation as LPG leakage continues

Jeypore: Villagers of Deoghat in Koraput district on Tuesday were denied to cremate the body of their kin on the outskirts of the village, as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) continued to leak from the tanker which veered of the road on Monday.

A tanker carrying LPG of Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) had fallen into a nullah near the village crating panic among the villagers.

Police said, the villagers were not allowed to cremate the body as the ritual involves burning of firewood which is risky. The villagers however buried the body in the village ground.

According to sources, the tanker carrying over 17 tonne gas was going to Raipur from Visakhapatnam through Koraput when the driver lost control on the steering wheel and vehicle overturned while negotiating a turn at around 2 pm. Police and fire service personnel rushed to the spot and blocked the Jeypore-Koraput link road where the accident occurred. Arrangements were made to empty the tanker. Police snapped mobile networks and power supply besides stopping movement of vehicles on the route to avert any untoward incident. The entire operation took over five hours.

However as on Tuesday morning villagers complained of gas leakage from the tanker, police sealed the area and restricted vehicular movement on the road.

Meanwhile, a senior technical team of IOCL are investigating the accident.

“The team has arrived and is investigating the matter”, said Antaryami Mohanty, IIC, Jeypore Sadar PS.